When Should I Pollinate My Female Pot Plant?

Dear Dan,
My question is this: When breeding new strains, when is the best time to introduce the female to the male pollen, and when is the male pollen ready for pollination? I am currently looking at breeding a new strain I have in mind and would like to achieve optimal potential out of my pollen and seeds. — Smokey McPot

Dear Smokey,

For an expert answer to your question, I reached out to one of my favorite bud breeders Subcool of Team Green Avenger or TGA Genetics. Sub told me that female cannabis is best fertilized right around day 21 – 29 of flowering. He staggers the flowering times so that the female goes into the flowering a full week before his males are introduced.

Male pollen is best collected when flowering pods open, which tends to fall around the 3rd to 4th week of flowering. Of course, indicas mature faster than sativas, as males and females.

He went on to note: “Male plants take longer to produce pollen in winter, even if the indoor temps are the same. It’s like they can sense it’s winter outside and decide to take longer to release pollen. In summer, they seem to produce viable male stamens much faster and make pollen super fast. To combat this, we often use two males budded at different intervals.”